The title gives it away: This book features the Spanish inquisition (and not the one with the comfy chair). There are also seven rings (not for the dwarf lords), an angel of death, and a trip to Manchester that serves to bring us some more WW2 history and a rare bit of Seawall origin story that I greatly enjoyed. And of course, Peter is going to be a dad and his family are as charmingly idiosyncratic as ever. If I have any complaints, it's that there weren't more references to classic jazz.
I don't know if it's because I didn't do the full required reading of Homer, Hobbes and ancient Greek mythology, but this book seemed overly long. There are moments of brilliance that made me keep going, but I still lost track of all the characters and their motivations frequently enough to make me consider aborting. All that said, it was a clever and many-layered book (or rather, series of books), just not one that I find easy to recommend.
Another lovely book in a series that I'm starting to appreciate a lot. Sparkly vampires, a werewolf, and the return of Fas. I like what's happening with Varney, and I think he's becoming my favorite character.
My favorite addition to the cast, and new English word, most be the two “remedial psychopomps”.
Plausible near-future Science Fiction that reviews the impact of a technology like Elon Musk's Neuralink might have on our society and those who cannot participate, as well as the dangers of giving corporations like that too much unchecked control. Themes include LGBTQ and disability, and it's refreshing to see an unconventional family (Sophie and David have two moms) at the center of this story, without the story being about that.
Although I liked the book overall, I don't think I enjoyed it enough. There were a few times I considered abandoning it altogether.
The message about the plight of women in a patriarchal society is important, but the presentation here is very on the nose. The story takes a long time before it gets to the eventual climax, which is then crammed into the final chapters, making for a very unbalanced reading experience.
I learned a lot, and got a lot of extra context for past events that I was aware of, but never thought this much about before. A remarkable deep dive into the history of the state of Israel and its use of assassination as a political tool. The author has incredible access to some leading figures, and I'm frankly surprised this book exists.
The underlying science fiction plot is well-crafted in the way it twists and turns, but what I appreciated most was the description of the main character's inner thoughts. At times uncomfortably recognizable, she's got a desire to be in control, and has many of the flaws she sees in other people (her husband, lab assistants and parents), but is in perfect denial about that.